With October approaching and my beloved Braves on cruise control, I asked by buddy Miles B. for his thoughts on the season.
Miles has a unique perspective–as a die-hard Yankees fan residing in Boston, he’s truly living behind enemy lines. I asked him about his Bronx Bombers, and I aired my growing distaste for the country’s fascination with the Red Sox. The BoSox, after all, can’t be underdogs anymore if the entire nation is rooting for ’em.
Here’s what Miles says:
I don’t know that the Yankees will beat the Sox again, but I am pretty sure the Sox aren’t going to take it all. And you are right about the fascination with the Red
Sox as underdogs. I think people outside of Boston are starting to get sick of it, and hopefully it will end soon.
People are starting to realize that the Red Sox aren’t this small market little team that could, but one of the largest market teams that can never quite make it happen. I, for one, will be happy when things go back to normal. I don’t need all this unecesscary Red Sox crap.
Now, you’ll be happy to know that my pick to win the series this year is the Braves. I think things are going to continue to follow the recent trends with kind of an underdog team flying beneath the radar winning it all. (Keep in mind this is not based on a single baseball stat, simply gut instinct). Here’s my breakdown: if the AL teams are Boston, Minnesota, New York, and Oakland, none of those teams look to be a great option. The Sox and the A’s have bad playoff histories, and the A’s line-up is not strong. The Yankees have obvious weaknesses. The Twins are a little tired at this point, but they have the best shot of any. If the Angels sneak up and catch the A’s, watch out, very dangerous.
Then there’s the NL, alomost all of these teams have a better shot. The Cards are getting all the attention right now and they are like the Indians of the early-mid 90’s (and the Yankees of today): daunting line-up, playing cohesive ball, no arms, too much of a front runner for me to pick. I like the Braves, they are sneaky, they can pitch, they have an awesome closer, and they have a few players who could carry them through a series. The only problem is JD Drew, since many consider him to be the anti-christ. It may be tough to win with him. We are ruling out the really big markets, so the Dodgers are gone. The Wild Card is truly wild over there–the Astros could pull something off, everyone knows the Cubs won’t do it, and with Barry about to break 714, I don’t think the baseball gods are going to give him a ring. That’s it, Braves are my pick.
–Milo